Garage Ceiling Insulation Mistakes to Avoid

Adding insulation to your garage ceiling is important for trapping the heat in the home and minimizing heat loss through your garage. During installation, avoid the following mistakes, as they can be costly or dangerous down the road.

Covering Electrical Boxes

As you attach and secure the bats of insulation, make sure you do not cover up any of the electrical boxes that are mounted to the ceiling. Prepare your bats of insulation before you attach them to the ceiling and cut holes to make room for the electrical boxes. Do not stuff the insulation too tightly around the boxes.

Not Leaving Air Space

Some do-it-yourselfers commonly forget to leave air space between the fiberglass and the underside of the wood roof sheathing. If you are insulating the garage ceiling not only by the truss level but also up by the roofline, then you must leave at least 1 1/2 to two inches of air between the fiberglass and the underside.

Make sure you have enough ventilation on your roof as well. There should be a continuous ridge and soffit ventilation. This will help to exhaust the water vapor that will collect. Without making sure of these components, you could end up with a mold and mildew mess.

Using Faced Insulation

If you are going the extra mile to insulate your garage ceiling, try to stay away from faced insulation. Many homeowners will purchase this type, but using it will present an increased fire hazard and risk to the home due to the craft paper-like facing. Since a garage is generally used to store lawn equipment and vehicles that have combustible fuel, it is better to stay away from this type of material.

Forgetting to Add a Vapor Retarder

Always remember to add a vapor retarder to your installation of ceiling insulation. This will help to prevent all sorts of garage floor condensation problems and prevent water from accumulating on the sheathing and the wood trusses.

Improper Planning

Take care to spend enough time planning for your project; do not leave any stone unturned. Make sure you have the entire layout of your garage and your insulation plans before you start.

Not Using Scaffolding

Do not think that you can just insulate your garage by standing on a tall A-Frame ladder. It just is not safe. Go the extra mile and rent scaffolding for your insulation installation project. This will help you get your project done quicker and more safely.